A Lifetime of Love

Being pregnant and sick has allowed me to lose at least 4 pounds this past week. Plus, I still don't really have much of an appetite, although I did "splurge" yesterday as we celebrated Ta's and TJ's birthdays. Yesterday began with breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. I love this place, yet nausea limited me to only 1 donut and then regretting it the rest of the day (because I felt worse, not because of it being junk food!) I ate 1/2 a sandwich for lunch, and then we went to Red Lobster for dinner (TJ's choice- Ta's birthday dinner is Thursday night. We switched them because where Ta wants to go, kids eat free on Thursdays). Again, nausea limited me to 1 cheddar biscuit, 3/4 of my salad, 8 shrimp scampi, and 4 fries from Th's plate. I forced myself to eat birthday cake when we got home so I didn't hurt anyone's feelings, but I was stuffed. Today, I had a small handful of pretzel sticks (the small ones), 1/2 of a sandwich, and a cup of tea. I'm just ...

I have survived my cold, although I seem to be regressing instead of progressing. I am back to blowing colored stuff rather than clear, and my chest is still really tight, especially at night. I'm still taking my antibiotic, but maybe I need a different one. Who knows! Ta had his birthday party on Saturday and he was very excited because his friends from preschool came. Plus, he's been wanting this huge digger/excavator ride-on toy from Northern Tool & Equipment. He asked for it for Christmas but we substituted it with a 4-wheeler. It worked for a little while but then he was back to constantly talking about the digger. So, we bought it for him for his birthday and TJ put it together Friday night. He woke up to it on Saturday and had a blast! I brought cookies to his preschool this morning (his choice) to celebrate his birthday today. He was the special helper of the day and got to pick from the "birthday box." He was very excited to have TJ and I there with him...

I just got home from the doctor. . . I have a nasty chest cold, but she's concerned because I'm running a fever. Bacterial infections this early in pregnancy can cause birth defects, so doctor's orders, I'm on bedrest for today. I feel horrible. My chest is so tight, it hurts to cough, I'm achy, my head hurts, and I'm freezing. Plus, morning sickness on top of everything else means I literally feel like death would be better than how I feel at this moment. But, hopefully my antibiotic will kick in before bed tonight and I'll sleep good. Anyway, time to put this heavy laptop down so I can take a nap before TJ and the kids get home for lunch. Have a great day!

Kiana had a bad day today. She was doing so well; TJ had her out yesterday playing with her ball. Have I mentioned how much she loves her ball? It's a big, red ball, and she can barely fit it in her mouth. She has to open her mouth really wide to get it in there, and it's all scratchy and rough from her teeth marks, but she loves it! We've bought tons of tennis balls hoping to get her "hooked" on those, but she prefers the big, red ball and leaves the tennis balls for Jenna to unpeel and break apart. Anyway, she was really playful yesterday morning and spent a good bit of the morning outside with TJ and the boys. I guess she overdid it because yesterday afternoon and all day today she's barely moved. Of course now I worry if the cancer is eating her alive (and I don't even know if it is cancer yet) so I make sure I give her plenty of hugs and kisses before I leave or go to bed at night; I don't know if she'll be alive when I see her next. I know th...

Kiana is doing better. She is taking pain medication, and it seems to be helping her tremendously. She is more active and actually gave me a "hug" last night (she jumps up and puts her paws on my shoulders), which she hasn't done in a very long time. She is also excited to go outside again, all of which are wonderful signs that her quality of life is improving. It really was heartbreaking to see her just laying around, depressed, and in pain. Plus, her relationship with Jenna (our Golden Retriever) was suffering because Kiana didn't want Jenna laying on her or playing with her (it caused Kiana pain). It caused Jenna to become depressed, too, since she couldn't be around Kiana without hurting her. Last night they were wrestling in the house a bit, and later they were back to snuggling together on the couch. I am still feeling nausea and exhaustion, plus I have been having terrible headaches from stress and lack of sleep. I have a midterm exam on Monday, 4 less...

Kiana has hip dysplasia . Her left hip is totally out-of-socket. The vet said she is surprised she has lived this long (K. will be 8 in May). I didn't realize she had lived a long life; I thought old for a dog was past 10 or 12. On top of that, she found a mass in Kiana's knee. She is on an antibiotic and has to return in 1 month. If it is still there, it's cancer. If not, than it was just an infection. If it is cancer, she has 6 months -1 year to live. I can't believe it! TJ said he didn't even want to tell me, but I'm glad he did so I know what we're up against. Of course now we are praying that it isn't cancer, and trying to provide her with the most comfortable life possible. For the last week or so, she has been living the life of luxury- sleeping on the couch, totally being catered to, loved on, etc. TJ told the boys she was sick, but hopefully she'll get better and we won't have to break the news to them that she is dying. TJ told me ...

Well, we went to the vet. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't a complete exam, either. TJ has to drop her off in the morning. The doc wants to sedate her so she can get a complete x-ray of her hips, and then she'll do a complete orthopedic exam. Of course I got a little misty-eyed as she told us her preliminary findings: hip dysplasia. I asked if she was sure, and she said as sure as she could be without having an x-ray. I told her what I had researched last night, and rather than dismiss what I told her, she did some examining to rule it out. I thought Kiana had degenerative myelopathy. It's ironic, but I just learned about this in one of my classes. This happens to people who have a stroke, CP, or other neurological damage. Basically, our nerves are covered in a coating called myelin. When a person suffers a stroke or other neurological distress, the myelin coating breaks down, similar to the rubber coating on an electrical cord. Without the covering, the nerves are exp...